IT Industry Alert: Lowe’s Names New CIO as Kevin Summers Exits the Company

Following last week’s departure of Chief Information Officer Kevin Summers, Mooresville-based Lowe’s announced the naming of Paul D. Ramsay as their new CIO. Ramsay has served as the company’s Senior Vice President of US Home Improvement since April 2013 where he was responsible for the execution of all technology services and omni channel platforms, and before that as Senior Vice President of IT Infrastructure & Operations. Prior to joining Lowe’s, Ramsay was Vice President of Global Infrastructure at Hess Corporation, where he worked for more than 15 years. Ramsay brings over 25 years of IT industry experience to his new position.

Continued Seamless Support

Although rumored that the leadership change may have been due in part to a hushed breach, Lowe’s Vice President of Public Relations, Chris Ahearn, affirmed that Summers’ departure was not related at all to the kind of recent data breach that cost Target CIO Beth Jacob her position.

Ramsay will be responsible for day-to-day IT operations, as well as the continued development of Lowe’s technology portfolio. Continued efforts will surround the seamless support of the operations within the company’s stores, distribution network, ecommerce platforms and business technology needs.

New CIO Means New Environment

In the 25 years that Ramsay has spent in the IT industry, he has used a variety of hardware, software and cloud based services.. Some of which were successful within the organization, and some that weren’t. When a company gains a new Chief Information Officer, they are guaranteed to go through a process of renewal and upheaval within the IT department. Ramsay will inevitably bring with him a set of preferred products and services, and will critically review the products and services currently being used within the IT environment. This is where the opportunity lies.

We recently conducted a survey of Chief Information Officers who had been in their new position for less than six months. The results showed overwhelmingly that big changes happen in the first six months. Results concluded that in the IT industry, 25% of survey respondents said that they spent over $1 million, and 71% of those IT industry leaders did so in the first three months of their new position. On the heels of recent infamous retail security breaches, Lowe’s will likely be looking to secure their enterprise, and invest in information security measures. Ramsay will be looking to improve and evolve the company to keep up with growing demand and an increasingly complex and risky IT environment. Get in touch with him, and let him know how your company can help.

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